Photomontages or real pornographic images? The question was at the heart of the debates, Tuesday at the Nanterre Criminal Court, where a fine of 10,000 euros was required against each of the Balkany spouses, tried for having disseminated photomontages of a sexual nature of the first deputy of the town hall of Levallois - Perret.
Despite his drawn features and his lean figure, Mr. Balkany, 74, proved to the hearing that he had lost none of his glibness and his banter.
"If I had wanted to harm him, I had a swarm of militants who were able to cover all the mailboxes in the city in one night, I did not do it", explained to the bar the one who was mayor of Levallois for around thirty years (between 1983 and 1995 then 2001-2020).
The Balkanys are accused of having broadcast to relatives pornographic images of David-Xavier Weiss, the current first deputy mayor of Levallois, a former close friend of the couple, who has become a political adversary.
However, as the public prosecutor admitted during the hearing, the experts cannot prove with certainty that these images are indeed a montage.
The Complainant's position on the matter was unclear during his various hearings. Mr. Weiss, who withdrew his complaint initially filed for disclosure of a document of a sexual nature and his civil action, was absent from the hearing.
The confusion even extended to the procedure because, if the prosecution decided to refer the spouses to court for the publication of a photomontage, the summons received by Mr. Balkany mentioned another qualification: "invasion of privacy of others".
For the defendant in any case, the question is settled: these are real photos.
"I have friends at the DGSI (general directorate of internal security, editor's note), which is in Levallois, I did not hesitate to ask them if it was a photomontage. They told me, under the seal of secrecy, that they had not been retouched", assured the court in his hoarse voice the defendant, willingly a showman in front of the press.
These photos, which the spouses received printed in a mailbox and on their telephone, Mr. Balkany assured that he had only transferred them to five people, including the current mayor of Levallois, Agnès Pottier-Dumas, for the " prevent".
"If it had happened to me when I was mayor, I would have asked him (to Mr. Weiss, editor's note) to resign. When you want to run for an election there are things not to do", launched the former baron of the Haus-de-Seine.
The deliberation will be delivered on June 6.
Since their departure from the town hall of Levallois in 2020, the Balkany have multiplied criticism - sometimes harsh - on social networks against the new municipal team.
Isabelle Balkany, 75, is to be tried in July 2024 for defamatory remarks made on Facebook against Agnès Pottier-Dumas.
On Tuesday, she was absent from the hearing. “She was operated on for lung cancer a month ago and she is now being treated for pancreatic cancer at the Institut Curie”, detailed her husband.
The parole granted to Patrick Balkany in connection with his conviction for tax evasion - which earned him two stays in prison - will end on April 21, when he will be completely free, he explained. Isabelle Balkany has never been imprisoned.
At the request of the court, he detailed their income: the spouses earn a combined pension of around 12,000 euros per month. "On this, I have tax levies which are significant," he hastened to add.
Sentenced for laundering tax evasion, the couple was found guilty of having concealed between 2007 and 2014 some 13 million euros in tax assets.
04/04/2023 19:03:31 - Nanterre (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
